Stasis
by bittersweetmelodie
Summary: The enemies have been defeated and the dust has settled, but the world doesn't stop spinning for the people left behind struggling to pick up the pieces. II: Of Moving on and Finding Peace (or, moving on is hard, but your friends will always be there to help you); Weiss/Yang
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** All recognizable characters and places belong to Rooster Teeth

 **A/N:** Er. This was supposed to be a drabble, but it kind of ran away from me, so here, take 3K+ words of blacksun word vomit. RT can pry this pairing from my cold, dead hands.

* * *

 **Part I:** **Of Realizations, Revelations and a Much-Needed Talk** (or, because the past will always come back to haunt you)

Blake's eyes narrow as she scans the crowd of battle-weary fighters, civilians and medics. Neptune and Scarlet are sitting on the steps of a run-down bakery, both sporting an assortment of wounds, but are otherwise alive and well. Ruby and Weiss look a little more worn out, but aren't too badly injured. Nora, Ren and Jaune are standing near the entrance of Haven Academy, clothes torn and bloodied. They look exhausted from the fight, but they're alive.

Panic starts to rise in her throat with each passing face; she doesn't realize that she's looking for _Sun_ until he sees him sitting next to Sage. His usually golden hair is matted and dull, and he has an ugly blue-black bruise spreading across his cheek, a cut on his forehead (which she hopes is superficial), and a sloppily patched up wound in his shoulder. She breathes a soft sigh of relief – he's bloodied, bruised and tattered, but she thinks he might be the most beautiful thing she's seen all day.

"Blake!" He calls out to her to try to catch her attention. His expression slowly melts into relief when he sees that she is – well, not uninjured, but at least she's alive and not in critical condition. He lifts his hand to wave to her, but winces as pain shoots through his shoulder. He lets his arm fall limply back to his side and he settles for giving her a sheepish smile instead.

"Sun!" She pulls away from Yang and Ilia, and rushes over to him, ignoring the pain in her leg. She kneels down next to him and reaches over to brush her fingers lightly over the cut on his forehead. "I'm so sorry." She gently wipes some of the blood away. "This is all my fault. I shouldn't have gotten you involved. Are you okay? That looks like a really nasty cut." She says all of this in a rush, as if she's trying to get everything out before it's too late.

He takes her hand and moves it away from his face. He gives her an even smile. "I said it before, and I'll say it again: it's _not_ your fault. No matter how badly I get hurt, no matter how many hits I have to take, it'll have been worth it if it meant that you were safe. That hasn't changed, Blake."

Blake stares at him – this literal ray of sunshine whose kindness knows no bounds – and she wonders what on earth she did to deserve him. Her eyes prickle with tears as the emotions rush through her – relief, gratitude. _Love_.

Relief that he's safe, that he's still alive, and that, despite everything that happened, he didn't lose his smile. Gratitude that he never gave up on her, despite her flaws and her attempts to keep him at a distance, that he stayed with her through everything, that he never ran from the monster that she knows she is. _Love_ , she thinks, caught off guard by the feeling. She hasn't _loved_ anybody in a very long time, not in that way at least. But sitting here with Sun, both of them covered in blood and wounds, amidst the chaos left behind from the war, she knows it's true. _I think I might love Sun_.

She leans over and rests her forehead against his, her hand coming to a rest at the nape of his neck. She ignores the fact that there is still blood on his forehead, and the fact that they are still surrounded by their friends and family – she just needs the contact, the physical reassurance that he is alive, and he is here.

"Blake?" He asks, shock evident in his voice. "You…um, you okay?"

She closes her eyes and lets out a soft sigh. "Yes, Sun. I'm fine," she says, her voice trembling. She tightens her hold on his neck.

He gently cups her cheek and runs his thumb right under her eye, a feather-light touch. "Hey, I'm fine, okay? We did it – we won, and I'm not going anywhere."

The overwhelming need to tell him how much he means to her takes her by surprise. She's known for a long time now that he loves her – maybe not a conscious level, but subconsciously, somewhere buried inside her, she knows. Because he was never one for subtlety, and he had a tendency of wearing his heart on his sleeve. And again, she wonders how somebody so bright and warm and pure could ever love somebody as dark and twisted as her. Because he's like the morning sun, and she's the darkness of the night, staining everything good that she touches. She thinks a part of her has always known that she loves him too, on some level, but the thought of tainting him with the death and destruction that surrounds her makes her sick to her stomach.

She doesn't know exactly _when_ her affections for him had turned into something more than friendship – it had been a culmination of events. Falling in love with him was a slow, quiet process of realizing that her respect for him, her constant fear for his safety, her desire to be around him, reached far beyond that of friendship. She thinks she might have _started_ falling in love with him at the school dance, the one that seemed like it happened in another lifetime. Despite everything that had been going on then, he had made it his mission to make sure she laughed and enjoyed herself that night. Maybe, if things had been different, if things hadn't gotten so out of hand during the Vytal festival, she might have let herself believe that she could actually be with him then.

But Adam's return had been a painful reminder that she only brought darkness and sorrow wherever she went, only making the people she loved suffer. She had been more than willing to let her feelings die off if it meant keeping him safe, but he had made that impossible when he came crashing back into her life with his warm smile, unconditional, unwavering support, and his earnestness. She appreciates that he never let her detachment put him off, but she never lets herself wonder how much he really means to her – with the way things were with Adam, and all the unresolved conflict, loving him would mean he would never be safe, and he deserved so much more than a distant, closed off girl who was so broken that she couldn't pick herself back up.

It wasn't until the fight with Ilia, until she saw him bleeding out on the rooftop that night, that she realized that she was _in love_ with him. Pure unadulterated fear, and desperation shot through her then, because he was going to die, and it would have been _her_ fault. It was _then_ that she knew that her feelings went far deeper than a simple crush, because she wouldn't _know_ what to do if she lost him.

He moves back a little, and her eyes fly open, a panicked expression on her face, like she's afraid that if she lets go, he'll disappear.

"Hey," he murmurs quietly as he grabs her hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze. "I'm not going anywhere. But you _do_ need to get to a medic." He gestures towards her mangled leg. "Your leg looks like –"

Without thinking of the consequences, without giving herself a chance to second guess herself, she surges forward and presses her lips against his in a desperate kiss, trying to pour all the months of pent-up feelings into it. She feels him stiffen in surprise, before relaxing against her. He lightly strokes the back of her hand with his thumb as he deepens the kiss. It's nothing like the kisses she's shared with Adam, rough and passionate, sometimes sorrowful and bittersweet; it isn't perfect – it's a little sloppy and a little rushed, because she still feels like everything can still disappear in a second – but to her, it just feels _right_ , like finally _, this is where I belong_.

He's the first to pull away; he looks at her, a small smile on his face. He looks a little stunned, like he doesn't really believe that she just kissed him, and she thinks she understands. Because he loved her for so long, quietly hoping that she might one day actually return those feelings, he must have wondered if she would ever love him back. And she does – she loves him with an intensity that scares her.

"Sun, I –" she starts, but Sage's low, gravelly voice interrupts her – a reminder that they are _still_ in the middle of what was a warzone not too long ago, and that people are probably watching. Her cheeks burn with embarrassment as she stares steadfastly at Sun's yellow sneakers, her gaze tracing the flecks of blood on them.

"The medics are here," Sage says. "Sun, you should let them take a look at the wound in your shoulder, and Blake… your leg has definitely seen better days. You should get it checked out too."

She looks desperately over to Sun. She wants so badly to tell him, in _words_ , how she feels about him. Because if there is one thing that she's learned, it's that life is too short to hesitate, and she's already wasted too much time running away – running from his help, running from his feelings, running from her own feelings, because she's scared of what they mean, of what they might do to him. But she's so _tired_ of running.

Sun presses a kiss to the side of her head and gives her a small smile. "Later, okay? We'll have all the time in the world to talk about things like feelings later. But right now, you need to get your leg patched up. I've waited this long – I don't think waiting a few more hours is going to kill me."

She freezes – _later_ is a concept she isn't familiar with anymore. The last few months have been spent wondering whether or not they would get to see the sun rise again, whether or not they would live long enough to see _later_. And she realizes that it hasn't _just_ been the past few months – she's spent most of her life wondering if she'll get tomorrow. During her time with Adam and Ilia, she was always fighting, always running. There was never a guarantee that they would make it out alive. Even at Beacon, where things had been peaceful, she'd always been looking behind her, searching the shadows for something that wasn't there – because she knew Adam would come back and haunt her. And she'd been right.

But all of that's gone now – Adam and Salem have been defeated. For once in her life, she doesn't _have_ to worry about whether or not she'll get a chance to do something _later_ , because she will. The imminent danger is gone. She knows this, but the fear that everything might suddenly be taken from her doesn't abate quite as easily, and she finds herself gripping Sun's hand.

"Hey," he says, his voice softening when he sees the terrified look on her face. He squeezes her hand soothingly. "I'll be right here, okay? I'm not going anywhere." He releases her hand, but he lingers, always touching her in some way – supporting her as she limps to meet the nearest medic, holding her hand as the medic inspects her wound, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder when she hisses in pain, running his fingers through her hair – a constant reminder that he's _here_.

* * *

It's dark by the time they reach the hotel room that she shares with Weiss (who took off with Yang to get some hot chocolate before bed, although Blake suspects that they just wanted to leave her alone with Sun for a while).

"I told you I was okay to walk," she murmurs as he sets her down onto the bed.

"I know," he says, "but the doctor told you not to put too much pressure on it. Your aura can only do so much to heal your wounds." He sighs. "Get some rest – you're probably exhausted. I'll see you in the morning, okay?" He presses a lingering kiss to her forehead.

She grabs the hem of his shirt as he turns to leave.

He turns back to her and gives her a questioning look. "Blake? What's wrong?"

"Stay with me?" she asks quietly, her voice trembling slightly. "I – I don't want to be alone right now."

His gaze softens at the frightened look on her face and he turns to face her fully. "Of course." He takes a seat on the bed next to her, and she shifts to the side to give him more space. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She shakes her head and curls into his side. Without the rush of adrenaline fueling her actions, she can feel her resolve from earlier fading into nothingness as the uncertainty starts to settle in its place. What does she know of love and relationships? All she knows is what she had with Adam.

Hesitantly, he wraps an arm around her shoulder and pulls her gently to him. "Okay, then," he says, "I'm here whenever you're comfortable enough to talk."

They sit in silence and listen to each other's breathing as the seconds tick by. She takes comfort in the rise and fall of chest, and the steady beating of his heart. Finally, she says, "Why… How can you – how are you so patient? With me? After everything, how can you still –? How could you possibly love somebody as broken and dark as me? You deserve so much more."

"Blake, you are one of the best people I know. Your entire life, you've been surrounded by hate and chaos and destruction, and you _chose_ to leave that behind you. Even though it was all you knew, even though you knew it would mean being alone, you chose to leave because you couldn't bear to use your skills to hurt people. You might have done things that you're not proud of, but you chose to become a Huntress to try and make things right, to try and correct some of hatred and violence in the world. You chose to try and make the world a better place, and that's not something a lot of people have the courage to do – to leave behind everything and everyone they know to chase after something they believe in.

So don't try to tell me that you're a terrible person, or that you don't deserve something, because you _do_." He places a hand under her chin and gently tilts her face upwards so he can look her in the eyes. "You deserve all the happiness in the world, Blake."

His voice is so sincere, and his face is open and earnest, and she can't stop the tears from filling her eyes, because this boy – this boy who would follow her to the depths of hell and back if she asked him to, this boy who shines brighter than anybody she's ever known – is looking at her like _she_ is the sun and the stars, like _she_ makes the world turn, and she doesn't _understand_.

"I can't – I don't know how to – be in a relationship. The only relationship I've ever had was with Adam, and that wasn't – it wasn't healthy, but it's all I know." A shiver runs down her spine as she remembers how _rough_ Adam could be when he was angry with her, how much harder he would push during their spars, how he didn't _stop_ , even when she told him that she couldn't take anymore, that he might _kill_ her. How he would apologize afterwards, how he would make her feel like she still loved him, because he had a way with words that made her feel like she was all that mattered to him. "How can I _be_ with you when all I know about being in love is a stupid game of push and shove?"

He brushes her tears away with his thumb. "Blake, I don't _expect_ you to be or do anything. Everybody loves differently, and it's okay if you feel unsure about it. If you aren't ready for a relationship, that's fine too – I can wait until you _are_ ready. We don't have to rush into anything, you know that right? We can take things slowly, and we can learn to be with each other – we can figure out how to fit into each other's lives together. And while I can't promise that I'll never get angry with you, I _swear_ that what we have will _never_ be like what you had with Adam."

His words are fierce, and his eyes are like the ocean, soft, gentle ripples that can become the dangerous, violent waves of a storm, given the right motivation. "Whatever he said to you – whatever he did to you –" His jaw clenches with rage at the thought of somebody she trusts hurting her. "You are _more_ than that, Blake. You are more than your past and your old relationship. Your relationship with him doesn't define you, and it doesn't make you any less deserving of _do_ deserve to be loved. Not the kind of unhealthy love that he gave you, but _real_ , unconditional love, whether it's from me or from somebody else."

She chokes back a sob, because she knows that's the kind of love he would give her if she let him – irrevocable, unconditional love. He would be content to love her quietly from a distance, and never push for her to love him back, and he would wait and wait and _wait_ until she's ready, even if it took her the rest of their lives. She wraps her arms around his waist and buries her face into his shoulder, her tears soaking through his shirt. "I love you. I love you. I _love_ you," she mumbles, repeating the mantra over and over, because she could say it a hundred times, a thousand times even, and it still wouldn't be enough to express how much he means to her, how grateful she is that he's so patient with her, that he never left.

"You know I've loved you for a long time," he murmurs quietly, "I've never been very good at keeping my feelings to myself."

"Being with me isn't going to be easy, Sun. I'm – I have a lot of baggage and I'm not good at opening up to people and –"

"I know," he says, hushing her. "There's a lot about your past that I don't know, and you'll tell me when you're ready, but I love you for all your flaws and your past mistakes, because they made you into the person that you are today. There isn't any part of you that I won't love."

"I'm sorry I can't be better for you."

"Hey, I don't want you be anything for _me_ – I want you to heal and grow and change for _yourself_. And I'll be here to help you figure it out. That's what I want our relationship to be like – helping each other grow into the best versions of ourselves."

She stills, because being with Adam made her feel like she was moving backwards, like she was becoming _less_ like the person _she_ wanted to be, and more like what _he_ wanted her to be, what he expected her to be. But Sun – Sun just wants her to be herself and to be happy, and she knows it's shouldn't be this way, but she doesn't know _how_ to do that.

Sensing her distress, he pulls her onto his lap and cups her face with both his hands. "Little steps, remember? We'll work on it together."

She lets out a steady breath. She can do this – she can leave her relationship with Adam in the past, where it belongs, because Sun is not Adam. She can learn to not draw her weapon every time they have an argument, she can learn to _talk_ about her issues instead of hiding them. She can learn to be in a healthy, stable relationship, because Sun will be there to help her.

She leans over and kisses him softly, slowly, and _this_ kiss feels like coming home, like falling apart and falling back together all at once. And nothing else in the world matters, because he's here with her. She still doesn't understand what she did to deserve him, because her life is a mess and she's made terrible decisions in the past, but in this moment none of that matters, because he chose her. Of all the people in the world, he chose _her._

He wipes the remainder of her tears away with his thumb and she leans into the comforting warmth of his hand.

She shifts off his lap and lays down on the bed, pulling him down with her. "Stay with me tonight?" she asks quietly.

He smiles at her and wraps his arms around her, pulling her to his chest. "Always."

She closes her eyes and smiles contentedly as she relaxes into Sun's embrace. This feels like starting over – this feels like a new beginning.

* * *

 **A/N:** I'M SORRY I STILL SUCK AT ENDINGS. Next up is Weiss/Yang, but clinicals are starting again on Monday (and I also gotta make a real attempt at studying), so it might not be up for a few more weeks. As always, constructive criticism is much appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** All recognizable characters and places belong to Rooster Teeth.

 **A/N:** TFW you know you should be studying, but you you spend the whole day writing instead, because RWBY is slowly killing you from the inside.

* * *

 **Part II: Of Moving on and Finding Peace** (or, moving on is hard, but your friends will always be there to help you)

"I'm calling an early night today," Ruby groans as she throws her arms up in the air in defeat. "I feel like I can sleep for _days_."

"Speak for yourself," Yang says, ruffling her hair. "It's _way_ past your bedtime, little sis."

With a roll of her eyes, Ruby opens the door to the hotel room that she's sharing with her sister. She hesitates at the door before turning around and running over to Blake and Sun (who has been carrying her since the medic told her to take it easy). She pulls Yang and Weiss towards them and envelopes the three of them into a tight huddle. "I'm so glad we're all okay."

A chorus of ' _I'm glad you're all alive too_ 's and ' _there's so much I want to do'_ (and Ruby's reluctant protest of ' _tomorrow please!'_ fills the silence of the hallway, and Weiss clutches tightly at the two people on either side of her (Ruby and Blake), because _this_ is her family – these three girls that she would do anything for – and tears fill her eyes.

Finally, after several minutes, Ruby releases her death grip on them. Weiss quickly wipes the tears away with the back of her hand and gives them all a watery smile.

"For real, though," Ruby says through a stifled yawn. "I'm actually exhausted. Good night, you guys. See you in the morning."

Weiss glances over at Blake nestled in Sun's arms, and then at the hotel room that they're supposed to share. Panic flashes briefly across her face, because she saw the way that Blake had run to Sun's side earlier, she'd seen the kiss, and she knows that between getting Blake's leg checked out and making sure that nobody was fatally injured during the battle, the two of them haven't really had a chance to _talk_ about things. And after everything they'd all been through, she at least deserves this. She wracks her brain for an excuse _not_ to go to bed, but comes up empty-handed.

The look of panic disappears as quickly as it appears, but Yang notices. She raises an eyebrow as she follows Weiss's gaze. She tugs her gently by the elbow. "Why don't you go to bed first, Ruby? I think me and Weiss will go and get some hot chocolate before bed. I'm not ready to sleep yet."

Without waiting for a response from any of the people gathered outside their hotel rooms, she leads Weiss down the hall.

Weiss narrowed her eyes. "You didn't really want to get hot chocolate, did you?"

"No, but you looked really uncomfortable with being Blake's third wheel."

"Hot chocolate, though? Really? I don't think anything's open to sell us hot chocolate at this time of night." Weiss gives her a small smile. "But thanks for saving me from an awkward situation. I was two seconds away from just running off without an explanation."

"Come on, let's go out and get some fresh air."

Yang leans against one of the trees outside the hotel room, and Weiss sits down at her feet. She puts Myrtenaster down beside her, but keeps her hand clenched around its hilt as she stares at the stars twinkling in the sky.

"You know, now I kind of want hot chocolate," Weiss says, frowning.. "I could really use some comfort food right now."

Yang raises her eyebrow. "Not scared that you'll accidentally melt your icy heart?" She teases as she nudges Weiss in the ribs.

"Haha, very funny." Weiss folds her arms across her chest. "Besides, my heart's already been melted."

"By who, Neptune?" She has no idea why she lets those words leave her mouth, and she hopes Weiss doesn't notice the jealous lilt of her tone. But she seems oblivious, as she gives her an apprehensive look, and Yang finds herself sagging with relief, because she's not sure if she's not sure if she's ready for Weiss to know how much she feels for her.

"No way. That was just a stupid crush. And quit teasing me, or we're going to get ice cream tomorrow, so that I can freeze my heart again," she grumbles. But the smile on her face betrays the grumpy tone of her words.

"Aw, Weiss, I don't think that's possible anymore. You're like the warmest person I know – with your hugs and your ability to cheer people up. Nobody who met you now would _ever_ believe you were an Ice Queen before."

"Stop that, you're going to ruin my reputation!" Weiss says, but she can't help the laughter that escapes her, and she clamps a hand over her mouth. Because _that's not very lady-like, Weiss,_ her mother had told her.

" _That_ ruined your reputation, not me. That laugh right there was probably the warmest thing I've heard in a very long time."

"I hate my laugh," Weiss admits quietly. "Mother told me that it's too loud. But it's been so long since we've been _able_ to laugh without worrying about what might happen next, it just kind of slipped out."

"Fuck that, Weiss, your laugh is fine. More than fine, even. Who cares if it's loud – the happiest people laugh the loudest, and after all that's happened, you deserve to be happy. Your laugh is perfect just the way it is."

Weiss gives her one of the biggest, happiest smiles that she has ever seen on the girl's face, and Yang has to fight the urge to lean over and press her lips to hers, because the stars might be shining brighter than she's ever seen, but they certainly can't compare to Weiss's smile. Instead, she blurts out, "Let's go get hot chocolate tomorrow," and then cringes at how sudden it must sound.

"What? But we have to –" she pauses and frowns. "Oh."

"What's wrong?" Yang asks, sliding down to sit down next to her.

"Nothing's _wrong_. I was just going to say that we have to train, but we don't. It's so weird. It's not like we wanted to have Salem around, but now that she's gone, I feel kind of lost. Our only goal for the past like five months was just to defeat Salem, and everything we did was to prepare us to do _exactly_ that. And now that we've done it, it's like… what now? We have so much free time now, and I'm not sure what to do with it."

"We can go watch a movie, I guess."

"Oh… Or we could go visit the local swimming pool."

"Or take a vacation."

"Or you know, actually _finish_ school."

"You're no fun," Yang says, making a face. After a pause, she adds, "We can live the rest of our lives like normal teenagers."

Weiss's hands tremble a little and she curls them into a fist. "Yea, normal teenagers," she echoes. She stands and stretches her arms above her head. "Do you think I gave them enough time to talk things out?"

"Maybe." Yang grins as she heads towards the hotel, her hands folded behind her head. "But if you go in there and they're making out, make sure you take a picture for me, okay?"

" _Yang!"_ She yells, sounding appropriately scandalized.

"What? It'll make good blackmail material."

"You're the absolute _worst_."

"Yea, but you know you love me," she teases as they stop in front of their hotel rooms. Then she tenses, because that statement could be taken _way_ out of context.

Weiss rolls her eyes. "You're so lucky that I do. And by the way, hot chocolate tomorrow sounds good. Good night, Yang." She disappears into her hotel room, the door clicking shut softly behind her, leaving Yang to stare after her.

Yang shakes her hand in wonderment – Weiss never ceases to surprise her.

* * *

"Here," Yang says, handing her an ice cream cone. "Ice cream for the Ice Queen. You said mint was your favourite, right?"

Weiss rolls her eyes, but smiles fondly at the old nickname. "I can't believe you're still calling me that. And yes, thank you." She takes the cone from Yang's outstretched hand and happily puts a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

"I could be on my deathbed, and I'd probably still be calling you that." Yang grins at her. "And, hey, it's better than _snow angel_ , isn't it?"

She buries her face into her free hand in embarrassment and mumbles, "You're never going to let me forget about my embarrassing crush on Neptune, are you?"

"Sure I will. When you have a new crush I can tease you about."

"Maybe this ice cream will make my heart freeze over and you'll never get the satisfaction of seeing me have another crush again."

Yang cringes internally, because the satisfaction of teasing Weiss about having a new crush wouldn't be worth the heartache that would inevitably come with it. "You don't mean that – " She cuts herself off and whirls around when she hears Weiss scream.

She watches, alarmed, as Weiss's ice cream cone splatters all over the side walk, and she draws Myrtenaster. "Weiss! What are you doing?"

Weiss stands there with her rapier drawn, like she's about to attack, and stares into Ruby's silver eyes, which have gone cross-eyed as she stares apprehensively at the tip of sword that is mere inches from her face.

"Umm…Weiss?" Ruby asks nervously. "I just wanted to surprise you – I didn't mean to scare you."

It takes Weiss a minute to realize who she's pointing her weapon at. Her eyes widen, and Myrtenaster clatters to the sidewalk. "I – I'm –" she looks horrified that she just drew her weapon on Ruby. "I'm so sorry!" she says before turning on her heel and running off.

"What happened?" Yang asks her sister. "Why did she look like she was about to stab you?"

"I may have jumped on her," Ruby admits, laughing nervously.

"You what?!"

"I just wanted to surprise her!" she says defensively. "I didn't know she was going to attack me!"

Yang sighs. "I think she might be having a hard time adjusting." She reaches down and picks up Weiss's weapon. She hands Ruby her ice cream cone and pats her on the back. "Don't worry about it – Weiss will be fine. You just took her by surprise, that's all. I'm going to go and return her weapon. And make sure she's okay."

* * *

Blake's head jerks up when she hears the hotel room door slam open. "Weiss?" she asks, alarmed.

Weiss stands in the doorway, her hand still on the doorknob, and gives Blake a strangled smile. "Blake, I, uh… I didn't know you were in here. I thought you went out with Sun." She rubs her eyes with the back of her hand, wiping away the tears that had accumulated there. She shifts nervously from one foot to the other, hesitating for a second before entering the room and closing the door behind her. She crosses the room and takes a seat on her bed.

"Is something wrong, Weiss?" Blake puts her book down on the bed beside her and sits up. "Weiss?"

"Yea, um. I'm fine. Just… I'm just a little tired." She fiddles with the hem of her skirt and prays that Blake will let it slide and go back to reading her book. After all, Blake never had been one for displays of emotion. She squares her shoulders and gives her the most reassuring smile she can manage. "I'm fine," she repeats.

But Blake recognizes her attempt to shut her out for what it is – she recognizes the walls that Weiss is putting up, because for most of her time at Beacon, she'd used the exact same walls to keep her secrets and her past from her friends in an attempt to protect them. She gets up from her spot on her bed and walks over to Weiss, taking a seat next to her.

She reaches over to wrap an arm around Weiss's shoulder, but hesitates, letting her hand hover, unsure what to do. On one hand, _something_ is wrong, even if Weiss refuses to tell her what it is (whether out of mistrust, or out of desire not to burden her friends, she isn't sure), and she wants to help. But on the other hand, Weiss doesn't seem like she wants to talk about it, and Blake doesn't want to force her into talking if she isn't ready yet.

"I'm fine!" Weiss snaps. She turns away, but not before Blake sees the tears sliding down her cheeks. "Nothing's wrong. Just – just leave me alone."

Blake watches helplessly as her shoulders shake with silent sobs. She doesn't know what to do – she has never been particularly good at comforting people, or getting people to open up to her. Whenever somebody had a problem, it was usually _Yang_ that helped. "Weiss, I – please, I just want to help, but I can't if you won't tell me what's wrong."

Weiss shakes her head. "Nothing's wrong!" She does her best to put the walls back up, but she can't stop her voice from trembling.

Blake nearly jumps in surprise when somebody places a hand on her shoulder. She looks up to meet Yang's purple eyes. "Yang," she says.

Yang gives her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "I think Sun's looking for you. You'd think that boy wouldn't survive five seconds without seeing you or something," she teases.

"What? But I – tell him I'll find him later." She gestures towards Weiss. "I – I don't think she should be alone right now."

"I know," Yang says quietly. "I got it – let me talk to her."

"Are – are you sure?"

Sensing her hesitation, Yang says reassuringly, "Yea, I got it. You go find lover boy."

Blake squeezes Weiss's shoulder comfortingly before getting up.

Yang watches as Blake takes one last tentative glance back at the two of them, a look of concern on her face, before she disappears down the hall. She sighs and reaches over to wrap an arm around Weiss's shoulder, gently drawing her out of her hunched position.

Weiss only resists a little before turning to face her, and Yang's heart breaks at the lost and forlorn look on the other girl's face. "Weiss, what's wrong? Are you worried that you upset Ruby? She's not angry with you, if that's what you're afraid of."

Weiss stares despondently at her. "It's nothing, Yang," she says, her voice sounding almost mechanical, like the words had been rehearsed – something she said a hundred times over, but never really meant. "I'm fine."

"I know that you think you can handle everything on your own, and maybe you _can_ , but that doesn't meant that you should _have_ to. You can talk to us, Weiss, we're all here for you. _I'm_ here for you."

Weiss shakes her head, because she's so _used_ to coping with everything herself that she wouldn't know how to ask for help even if she wanted to. She'd spent a majority of her life hiding behind masks and pretending nothing was wrong; her parents left her to her own devices, letting her deal with her problems herself, and her father had told her that asking for help was _weak_. ' _You'll never accomplish anything for yourself if you're not even strong enough to deal with your own problems,_ ' he'd said. So she'd hardened herself, never letting herself rely on anybody else for help, and pushing out anybody who tried.

"I can't – I don't – " she struggles to find the right words to explain why she hadn't asked anybody for help, why she'd hidden behind a false smile and a cheery attitude, but draws a blank.

But Yang thinks she understands, to an extent, because she's used to keeping everything to herself as well. For the better part of her life, she'd been alone, with nobody to talk to, because how could she tell _Ruby_ that she resented their parents for leaving her alone to take care of her? She would do _anything_ for her little sister, and she loves her to death, but that doesn't make the bitterness or the loneliness go away.

And Weiss must have had it the same way, maybe even worse, because at least she has a father who cares, and a sister who will always be there for her. Weiss has nobody – she doesn't know much about Weiss's father or brother, but from what little she's heard of them, they certainly aren't the most loving of people. Her mother is _drunk_ all the time, and her sister is never home. She probably doesn't even _know_ how to approach another person to ask for help.

"You don't always have to keep everything to yourself, Weiss. We won't judge you for having fears and worries – we all have them."

"It shouldn't be this way," Weiss finally says, her voice trembling. "It shouldn't be our first instinct to – to draw our weapons. We're only kids, Yang. We've barely made it to adulthood and – we're already so war-hardened that whenever something small happens, our first instinct is to _draw our weapons_.

I almost stabbed Ruby in the face just now! Every day, I double check to make sure I have Myrtenaster with me, and it _shouldn't_ be like that. I shouldn't feel insecure and exposed because I don't have my weapon. How – how do you get over that fear? That anxiety? The feeling that you need to defend yourself from something that isn't _there_? How can do I get back to the way thing were before?"

Yang shakes her head. "Moving on doesn't come that easily, Weiss. Nobody expects you to bounce back that quickly," she says quietly. "It'll happen in small steps. We've all spent so long fighting, we don't really know what _normal_ is anymore. Maybe this _is_ normal for us now – the constant fear that somebody we love might die.

But it won't be like that forever – you just have to find a new normal for yourself, and that won't happen overnight. But eventually, you'll stop thinking that there's something in the shadows, you'll let your guard down, and you'll stop carrying your weapon around like a shield. Eventually, you'll move on, but it's going to be a slow process."

"I – I don't know how to – _how_ can I move on?" she asks, her voice breaking. "Every time I close my eyes, I – I have to relive it. I relive almost _dying_. It's like the blackness is closing in on me, and I can't _breathe_. I haven't had a good nights' rest in weeks, because every time I close my eyes, I'm so s-scared that I won't get to open them again!"

Yang's heart clenches as she watches Weiss – calm, cool, collected Weiss – breaks down into tears right in front her eyes. Since the battle ended, Weiss had been nothing but supportive, making sure everybody was okay, giving smiles and hugs whenever somebody needed her. It hadn't ever occurred to Yang that _she_ might be the one who was silently screaming for help while hiding behind her cheerfulness. And Yang wants to _kick_ herself for not asking her how she's been doing.

She circles her arms around Weiss's shoulders and pulls her gently into a hug. "Weiss, why didn't you _say_ something?"

Weiss clutches the front of Yang's shirt, her hands trembling, and buries her face into the crook of her neck. "I – I don't know. Everybody is acting like the fights, the battles, the god damned _war_ was decades ago, like we weren't right there on that battlefield just last week. Blake's picking up the pieces of her life and she smiles a lot more easily than I remember. And it seems like Ruby is as happy and carefree as she was at Beacon. How could I take that away from them? Everybody is moving forward, and I feel like I'm being left behind. Everybody seems to be able to slide right back into their old habits like the whole war didn't happen, and I – I can't do it. I don't think I can _ever_ do it."

"Nobody is leaving you anywhere, Weiss, and nobody is asking you to go back to the way things were. We all move on at different paces – you're just taking a little longer than the rest of us, and that's _fine_. But if you're not going to tell anybody what's wrong, or what you're coping with, how can you expect us to _be_ there for you? The reason we're all managing is because we have people who love and support us, and we let those people help us work through our struggles – Sun's helping Blake put her life back together, Ruby has Qrow, and she has me. We all have people around us willing to help us get through the nightmare that our lives have become. And you do too – you just have to let them in."

Weiss sniffles. "How did you do it? How did you get over losing your arm?"

Yang smiles at her. "I had people to help me through it. I – I had a hard time accepting it too, at first. I was so angry at the time, and it felt like the world hated me, like I couldn't rely on anybody. Because Blake ran, and then Ruby left – it's like you said. It felt like I was being left behind. But it's not true – your friends will always be there for you. My dad helped me work through a lot of my initial anger.

Sometimes I still forget that my right arm is metal, and I'll punch somebody with it, and be surprised that their screaming, because I didn't hit them _that_ hard. And then I'll remember that it's because it's not flesh – I just basically whacked them with a piece of metal. It doesn't happen as often now, but it still makes me really sad when it does. And you know what I do? I'll talk to somebody about it. I'll find Ruby or Uncle Qrow. Or if I'm at home, I'll talk to my dad. And talking about it doesn't magically make all the negative thoughts and emotions go away, but it sure as hell makes me feel a lot better."

"I can come to you then?" Weiss asks in a small, timid voice. "I can – if I have a nightmare or if I'm feeling sad, I can come to you? And you really won't mind?"

"Of course you can, Weiss," she says, her eyes softening at the uncertainty on Weiss's face. She wants to punch Weiss's parents for making her feel like it's wrong to ask for support and comfort.

Weiss lets out a steady breath and wraps her arms around Yang, squeezing her into a tight hug. "I'm going to be waking you up in the middle of the night a lot."

"That's okay."

"And I have a lot of family issues that I might want to talk about."

"That's okay, too."

"It's might be very little actual talking, and a lot of awkward silences, because I'm not really sure how to talk about my problems."

"That's okay, too. Weiss, really, when I say I'm here for you, I mean it. I'm here to listen to your problems and try to help you through them, even if you're not sure how to express them. I'm here for all the awkward silences, and I'm here if you want to just sit in silence because you aren't ready to talk about it."

"Yang… thank you." She leans her head against Yang's shoulder and breathes a sigh of relief. She still has a long way to go before she can really say that she's _fine_ , but she feels like she's taken a big step forward, and the weight on her chest feels a little lighter, and for now, that's more than she can ask for.

* * *

 **A/N:** For real though, I'm working full-time starting tomorrow + studying, so it might be a long time before my next story. For now, have some freezerburn word vomit!


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